A deadly crash blocked the one highway out of a Maine island city for hours this weekend
A deadly bike crash Sunday highlighted a hazard that’s been dealing with drivers in Stonington and Deer Isle this summer time.
Native officers within the two cities have expressed concern for years in regards to the vulnerability of the low-lying causeway that connects Little Deer Isle to the principle island and the suspension bridge that arcs over Eggemoggin Attain, connecting Little Deer Isle to the mainland.
Local weather change might render the causeway unusable from storm harm or sea degree rise, whereas a catastrophic failure on the bridge — both pure or human-caused — might have penalties that final months and even years.
However this summer time, it has been roads on the principle island which have posed extra quick issues. The deadly accident on Sundown Street and its subsequent closure by the Hancock County Sheriff’s Workplace led to some motorists being caught for a number of hours.
Usually, two roads join Stonington to Deer Isle village, however certainly one of them — Route 15 — has been closed to by means of visitors since Might whereas the state works to assemble a brand new bridge the place Holt Pond flows into the ocean. With each Sundown Street and Route 15 being closed on Sunday, it wasn’t attainable to drive from Stonington to Deer Isle, the one solution to drive to the mainland.
Residents of Stonington and Deer Isle are used to occasional detours due to the restricted community of roads that connects the causeway to downtown Stonington and some smaller islands that lie off Route 15, Evelyn Duncan, a Stonington Choose Board member, stated.
“You at all times fear, as a result of if an ambulance or fireplace truck can’t get by means of, it turns into slightly extra crucial,” Duncan stated. “However we’ve clearly survived.”
There have been different latest closures and obstacles to take care of. Per week earlier than Sunday’s deadly bike accident, a police standoff briefly closed the roads simply east of Deer Isle’s village, forcing motorists to make use of different routes. Over the weekend, robust winds from Hurricane Lee pushed some bushes down into roadways, partially or absolutely blocking the roads till the bushes may very well be eliminated.
“It’s a vulnerability we ought to be desirous about,” Jim Fisher, Deer Isle’s city supervisor, stated in regards to the island’s highway community. However he stated the causeway stays a much bigger concern as a result of its closure would have an effect on folks in each cities. Simultaneous closures on the island that stop journey from one city to the opposite have “been very uncommon,” he stated.
One other sudden concern has been the size of time the Holt Pond undertaking has taken. The Maine Division of Transportation had hoped to finish it by the top of August, however that objective has been pushed again as a result of supplies have been delayed.
“The contractor’s provider for the precast concrete beams was unable to fabricate and ship the supplies to ensure that the contractor to put in them in early August,” Paul Merrill, a division spokesperson, stated. The supplies are there now, and the bridge is anticipated to be reopened the second week of October.
Residents are trying ahead to having the undertaking executed, Duncan stated. When that occurs, they might have a break for a number of months earlier than the state begins work on one other native undertaking: changing a special bridge that connects the village of Oceanville to the remainder of Stonington.
“We hope they’ll wait not less than by means of the winter,” she stated.
